2012 GEMS Analysis of U.S. Corporate Environmental Practices

This report provides an overview of the results of the 2012 Benchmarking Analysis of Disclosed U.S. Corporate Environmental Practices. The report highlights trends in the use and sophistication of an array of environmental management practices as well as companies that are leaders in this area. The analysis uses the Governance and Environmental Management Strength (GEMS) Ratings methodology to evaluate the 1,000 largest publicly traded U.S. firms by market value. The GEMS Ratings evaluates 50 distinct indicators organized into five major elements of a coherent organizational environmental management framework. The elements include governance, policy, infrastructure and systems, performance results, and transparency/accessibility.

GEMS Ratings results reveal the leading companies and sectors within the U.S. economy in terms of environmental management sophistication and effectiveness, as well as sectors and specific industries that appear to be lagging, based upon the information that their member companies have disclosed.